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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

1880s Autograph Album of Elizabeth A. Sutton, Class of 1881 at Normal College of New York City

Autograph album given to Elizabeth A. Sutton, "Lizzie", on December 24, 1879 by "Mother" and "The Boys".

Lizzie collected the autographs of many of her fellow members of the Class of 1881 at the Normal College of New York City, now Hunter College, as well as those of other students at the Normal College and other institutions.

The album is approximately 8-1/4" x 7" and contains the sentiments of 57 of Lizzie's relatives, friends, schoolmates and pastor. An alphabetical list of the signers appears at the end of this post.

Elizabeth A. Sutton was born about May 1861 in New York or New Jersey, the daughter of John and Matilda A. (Hopkins) Sutton, who were born in England and New York, respectively. I imagine Lizzie taught a few years after her 1881 graduation from the Normal College, but I don't know for sure.

Here's a link to a New York Times article in the issue of July 1, 1881 that lists the 1881 graduates of the Normal College of New York City.

Lizzie's uncle and aunt, A. H. Hopkins and E. R. R. Hopkins of Syracuse, New York, signed a page on August 21, 1883.

Two other people named Sutton signed pages in the album, but didn't indicate a family relationship with Lizzie, though they most likely had one. Susie F. Sutton signed on December 29, 1879.

On March 5, 1889 at Manhattan, Lizzie married Alexander McLean Jeffrey, son of William and Jane (Sheliff) Jeffrey of Ireland. Alexander was born in Ireland about February 1850; he graduated from New York University Medical College in 1896. The couple lived at New York City, where Dr. Jeffrey had his medical practice. The couple raised, I think, four children:

Laura McLean Jeffrey, born about March 1890. She may be the Laura Jeffrey who attended Columbia University, became a doctor and, sadly, died 1918

William Harold Jeffrey, born 25 March 1897 at New York, New York; was attending Williams College when he completed his WWI draft registration card

George Kenneth Jeffrey, born 3 April 1900 at New York, New York; was attending Pawling Academy when he completed his WWI draft registration card

Ruth Elizabeth Jeffrey, born 30 April 1904 at New York, New York

Dr. Jeffrey died at his summer residence at Mount Kisco, New York in 1918.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or information on any of the signers listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!

One page was signed by Elina Francfort. During my efforts to decipher her surname, I found an article in the New York Times of April 4, 1906 about the deaths of Elina and her older sister Clara.